Breakdown of Szerintem a leves finom, de a pizza túl drága.
Questions & Answers about Szerintem a leves finom, de a pizza túl drága.
Szerintem means in my opinion or I think.
It is built from szerint = according to, plus the -em ending = according to me. Hungarian often uses this kind of form instead of a separate word like English I think.
So:
- szerintem = according to me / in my opinion
- szerinted = in your opinion
- szerinte = in his/her opinion
In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense in the 3rd person when the sentence is something like X is Y.
So:
- a leves finom = the soup is tasty
- a pizza túl drága = the pizza is too expensive
Hungarian does include to be in other persons:
- Én fáradt vagyok = I am tired
- Te fáradt vagy = You are tired
But in 3rd person present, it is normally omitted.
Because here they are not part of a noun phrase like tasty soup or expensive pizza. They are the predicate of the sentence:
- a leves finom = the soup is tasty
- a pizza drága = the pizza is expensive
If you wanted to say the tasty soup as one noun phrase, Hungarian would put the adjective before the noun:
- a finom leves = the tasty soup
- a drága pizza = the expensive pizza
So:
- a leves finom = the soup is tasty
- a finom leves = the tasty soup
Túl means too in the sense of excessively or more than is good/acceptable.
So:
- túl drága = too expensive
This is different from nagyon:
- nagyon drága = very expensive
- túl drága = too expensive
A is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.
So:
- a leves = the soup
- a pizza = the pizza
In a sentence like this, it usually means the speaker is talking about specific food items already known in the situation, such as the soup and pizza on the menu, on the table, or under discussion.
Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:
- a before a consonant sound
- az before a vowel sound
Since pizza begins with the consonant sound p, it takes a:
- a pizza
Compare:
- az alma = the apple
- a leves = the soup
Because they are the subjects of the two clauses, and Hungarian subjects are usually in the nominative, which normally has no ending.
So the basic forms are used:
- leves
- pizza
If they were direct objects, they would usually take the accusative ending:
- eszem a levest = I eat the soup
- kérem a pizzát = I would like the pizza
De means but.
It connects two contrasting ideas:
- Szerintem a leves finom = I think the soup is tasty
- de a pizza túl drága = but the pizza is too expensive
So de works very much like English but.
Not completely. Hungarian word order is flexible, but different orders can change the focus or emphasis.
The given sentence is a natural, neutral way to say it:
- Szerintem a leves finom, de a pizza túl drága.
You could also hear things like:
- A leves szerintem finom, de a pizza túl drága.
- Szerintem finom a leves, de túl drága a pizza.
These are still grammatical, but the emphasis shifts a little. For beginners, the original version is a very good neutral pattern to learn.
A very common beginner point: Hungarian sz is pronounced like English s in see.
So szerintem starts with an s sound, not a sh sound.
Also useful:
- Hungarian s by itself sounds like English sh
- sz sounds like English s
So:
- sz = English s
- s = English sh
Not always.
- finom usually means tasty, delicious, or nice-tasting when talking about food
- drága usually means expensive
But drága can also mean dear in the emotional sense in other contexts, like my dear. In this sentence, though, it clearly means expensive.
So here:
- a leves finom = the soup is tasty/delicious
- a pizza túl drága = the pizza is too expensive